Christmas Break Well Under Way

I am so enjoying this Christmas break! It still feels weird to not have homework to do, a paper to write, or a project to finish. I've been working with my horse, reestablishing some semblance of sanity and respect, and he's doing better. At least, he's not so spastic, he's still a bit pushy.
Went to see Sherlock Holmes on Christmas Day, after waiting since July to see it, and I was not disappointed. True, it is one of those "based on the characters of..." movies, but there were really no major elements that came totally out of left field, nothing that doesn't have at least a touch of base in the original books (such as the boxing scene which I have already heard grief over... in the second chapter of A Study in Scarlet Holmes is described as being an expert boxer). Maybe Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes is a bit wackier than I had envisioned based purely on the original stories, my sister remarked that the character reminded her of Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow in Curse of the Black Pearl, eccentric but wiley. All in all, an excellent movie.

Another Good Read

Scanning my Favorites tab this morning for the first real time since Wednesday, checking up on news of the outside world, I ran across another gem of an article. It amazes me how many things people tell me are my or their rights that really aren't, and Mr. Napolitano did a great job of setting the record straight, and drawing the line in the sand between human rights and goods/services. Interesting how nationalized healthcare seems to infringe on a few of the real rights... or, perhaps I'm just young and bitter. ;-)

I Heart GraphJam...

Taking five from intense studying for finals tomorrow to bring another chunk of randomness to the Zone. May my finals not go as the graph suggests.

Fortune Cookie Fun

I think someone is trying to tell me something. At dinner tonight, one of the options was an Asian style something or other, and there were fortune cookies at the end of the line. My roommate and I each grabbed one, and opened them at our table. Mine read "One way to learn more is not to hide your ignorance." Roomie's read "Read in order to live." Maybe Grove City specially orders academic themed fortune cookies for finals week. Or it's an odd coincidence. Are there coincidences at all? Hmmm... I need to stop philosophizing and get back to studying...

The Student's Finals Prayer

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not flunk;
He keepeth me from lying down when I should be studying.
He leadeth me beside the water cooler for a study break;
He restores my faith in study guides.
He leads me to better study habits
For my grades' sake.
Yea, tho' I walk through the valley of borderline grades,
I will not have a nervous breakdown;
For Thou art with me;
My prayers and my friends, they comfort me.
Thou givest me the answers in moments of blankness;
Thou anointest my head with understanding,
My test paper runneth over with questions I recognize.
Surely passing grades and flying colors shall follow me
All the days of examinations;
And I shall not have to dwell in this university forever

Final Exams and Mindless Ramblings

Final exams start on Saturday for me... I have three in a row that day. I may be an idiot for it, I could have swapped them around for a less demanding schedule, but at this point I want to be done. Fortunately, the first one is Business Calculus, and the torture will finally end. At least I'm pretty well assured of passing if the final goes just as well (or bad) as the in-term tests. I'll be glad to not have that hanging over my head while I study for Physics and Microeconomics, my two other tricky classes.

I don't get out until late, and Christmas is unfolding at home WITHOUT ME. Grr. At least once I do get sprung I get to stay home for a while and see my family for more than a couple of days, and mess with the horses and other animals. I want to curl up in a ball by the woodstove and lose myself in a good book that I won't be quizzed on the next day. I need another series to get hooked on while I'm waiting for the next Inheritance book, though. Now, I've been told I'm weird too many times to expect much sympathy for this, but almost don't want the suspense to end. When the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out, I remember almost crying as I started reading, because I knew how close I was to knowing the end of the story, and to not having another installment to look forward to. Of course, there's a growing list of nonfiction that I want to read building up on my desk as well. Maybe I really am twisted, but I love looking at a stack of books that I really want to read. :D

Climategate

Now, Climategate has gotten tons of coverage by tons of people with tons more authority to speak on the topic than I do, so I won't pass much comment except to send readers here to get a brief overview of what the tumult is all about. Oddly, many people I've talked to don't even know about all the ruckus. Here in the Land of No Cable/Satellite TV, I don't hear much of the mainstream media coverage (the above link was found via LRC), except last weekend a major news station reported that a major figure mentioned in the Climategate emails had said that the whole thing was rubbish and not to worry, that the planet is still warming.

Anyway, this link was sent to me, and is worth a watch and a laugh:

Sweet Little Pony...

Well, I can see how my Christmas break will be spent... reteaching basic manners to my horse! Between my being away at school on weekdays, the colder weather, and nasty conditions keeping him from the turnout time he deserves, he was an absolute pig to deal with last weekend. Not being mean, just an 800 pound horse that thinks his sense of humor carries over to the person holding the lead rope (not the situation), and that I'm willing to put up with rushing, fussing, and performing Airs Above the Ground on the way to the pasture for turnout. Not behavior I'm willing to live with. I'm really looking forward to break so I can deal with his "sugar high" attitude. I can't cut his grain any further, he only gets a single handful (and I have tiny hands...) to keep him happy while his "brother" eats his own feed. Its just going to take regular turnout and groundwork/riding out to get my obedient, sweet little angel back. I hope the weather cooperates.

Sorry, no pics of Scout's spazz attack, but imagine the picture above, but a fuzzy brown horse with one blue eye being led by a girl in snow pants, rubber boots, and a hunting coat. Funny image in hindsight, but not a scenario I wish to repeat.

Christmas Lights on Steroids

I love frittering my time away on useless frivolity, and let's just be honest that frivolity runs rampant this time of year, even when school demands a moratorium on frivolous activity (I actually relish the opportunity to use the word "frivolous", I misspelled it in a bee back in the sixth grade...). A great favorite of my Christmas surfing is watching these Light-O-Rama displays on YouTube, so I thought that I'd share. My roommate informs me that just as I hit play on the video, she finished listening to A Mad Russian Christmas on her iPod. Great minds think alike :)

The Semester Starts to Wind Down... Or Is It Up?

Finals approach, and papers are due. One of them in particular I've actually grown rather fond of over the course of the term, written on the compatibility of capitalism and Christianity. I've made my concessions, and a stand or two, over it, and I'm about ready to hand it in tomorrow.

I forget about the existence of "The Grove City Bubble," as it is affectionately known on campus. I go home for Thanksgiving break and I hear all sorts of news (via CNN, at least they give headlines and I can Google further information) about Climate-gate, Dubai's monetary troubles, etc. It's amazing how the outside world with its current events melts away when you're buried under a snowdrift of writing and turkey. And I can't research it much more than I am now without shirking on my scholastic duties! Bring on Christmas Break!!!

Food Fighting Students Arrested??

Found this article via LRC (as I find most of my "news"), and could hardly belive what I was reading. Why on earth would anyone even think that arresting kids for participating in a food fight would be a good idea?? I mean, sure, there are a battery of "school punishments" available, the old detention, no recess (or whatever the trend is in middle school... I was a homeschooler from 6th grade on), lines, notes to parents, parent-teacher conferences, have them clean the mess (not really a punishment per se, but if I had thrown food on the walls at home as a kid that would surely have been included), whatever... but ARREST THEM?? For Pete's sake, they're kids, and they were throwing food. I'll quit ranting now...

Caring for Introverts

How to Care for Introverts

A friend emailed this list to me today, and I managed to find an embeddable version online. As a self proclaimed introvert, I found it kind of funny and interesting.

Misunderstanding?

Every now and again, it dawns on me how mixed up some people can get on what would appear to be simple and self evident aspects of economics. Especially with definitions. Things like "capitalism," "socialism," and "communism" have been detached from their real meanings. So many people I talk to and read have this odd (to me) idea that capitalism is the same as exploiting workers, and that giving aid to the needy is something that will only happen through intervention. I am writing a term research paper for one of my classes on how capitalism and Christianity can be compatible, and I have done my best to be very clear in my definitions from the start, to show that correctly defined capitalism (i.e. free market, private property) is compatible with Christian teaching. Writing that has really opened my eyes to how far more educated writers than I are confusing state intervention with charity, and private property ownership with the exploitation of laborers.

How did all this confusion and misunderstanding start? When did a person's belief that what is his is his and that he ought to be free to act as he chooses become an assumption by the world that he is a greedy pig? What happened? Maybe another day I'll address that... in the meantime...

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/triumph-of-socialism134.html

As the Nightmare Unfolds...

It's been a few days, my workload piled up on me in an inordinately short timespan. So, I thought that I'd post a few rules for undergrad life that have stood in sharp relief for me in the last few days

1) Know all of your due dates/test dates/quiz dates for the semester by the last day of the first week. Post these in a list (red ink) on the wall by your desk.

2) Your hardest class will not only affect your GPA in that course, but will invariably take up so much of your time that your grades in your other courses (no matter how easy) will slip

3) When studying for an exam in your hardest course takes away any time to finish homework/reading for other courses, and you can either attend one of the easier classes or finish homework for the next class, skip. The prof will invariably spend the first 20 minutes allowing the rest of the class to finish something you already have.

4) Never spend the last 5 hours of your day studying calc, and then go directly to sleep. Avoiding the bizarre dreams is worth the sheer exhaustion.

More pearls of pessimistic wisdom later... class calls :)

Maybe I Should Go Home More Weekends?

This weekend, I chose to throw caution to the wind and go home and relax, in spite of the Spanish quiz I have tomorrow, the Calc Exam I have Wednesday, and the 14 page rough draft due Friday. Maybe I should just go home more often, since I had a fairly major mathematical insight while cleaning horse stalls. Now I'm maybe not completely lost in Calc, hopefully I'm un-lost enough to pass... Why can't I have these revelations in class, or while doing homework, or immediately before an exam... Oh, well. I should just quit typing and be glad I had an insight at all. ;)
I'm in a good mood now, at least until the fact that tomorrow is Monday sets in fully. I got around 7 pages of my paper done, so I wasn't completely unproductive. I need to all but finish the thing, though... the library wants it's books back tomorrow *sigh*.

Austrian Student Scholar's Conference

On Halloween weekend, my school, Grove City College, hosted the Austrian Student Scholar's conference. Unfortunately, due to my class schedule and my study obligations, I couldn't make it to many of the presentations, but I did get to see Dr. Walter Block's lecture on "My 41 Years as an Austrian Economist." Really a very entertaining and informative lecture, everything I expected from my reading of Dr. Block on LRC.

Perhaps before I graduate in the next couple of years I'll get up the nerve to submit a paper for the conference. I love listening to others, and learning Austrian economics myself, but I don't think I'm ready yet to present a paper on eating chocolate cake, let alone a well thought-out and, lets just say it: good, economics paper at such an event.

Thanks to GCC for the great opportunites we have to hear these speakers!

Facebook...

... is just as weird in reality as it is in cyberspace. Perhaps some explanation is in order... I have staunchly avoided "getting a Facebook" for over a year, despite the cajoling of my roommates. Well, today I returned from class and found a notice over my deskside bulletin board that has labeled it as my "Facebook" wall. Several of my notices, quotes, thoughts and reminders are now bedecked with Post-its, bearing "comments." It's really rather interesting, but if I thought that the Facebook phenomenon was weird within the bounds of a monitor, it is nothing compared to the mock version affixed to my dorm wall. Ahhh, well, anything to keep my roomies entertained. ;)

Guy Fawkes Day

This morning, in my general overall eccentricity, I greeted my roommates with a reminder that today is November the Fifth, Guy Fawkes Day in Britain. Naturally and as is usual, they stared blankly back at me. Perhaps I watch too much TV, and have to large an interest in the history of other countries, but the Guy Fawkes legend has fascinated me for a few years now, at first since reading the Harry Potter novels (Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, very aptly named), and then after watching V for Vendetta, of course. I thought I'd post a little info in honor of the holiday.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes

Another Lew Rockwell Gem

All right, confession time. I made it through high school (homeschooled, of course, but that is beside the point) and a year and a half of college without getting my driver's licence. Between my ability to walk or ride anywhere I feel like going, a required car-free existence as a freshman on my college campus, and the lack of a reliable hand-me-down car, I just never got around to taking the driven test.
Anyway, enough with my excuses. I found this on LRC this morning, a brilliant discussion on what it means to be free, through the lens of "the rules of the road." An awesome read, and a reminder that the requirement of health/safety in a state of freedom is responsibility. Stupidity cannot be legislated out of existence, and when "they" try, those of us who are responsible and can make reasonable assumptions about the safety of an action are stripped of the freedom to do something like text and drive if the situation is safe to do so.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/freedom-to-text133.html

Fast Food Frivolity

Yay for creative ways to order from Taco Bell!
One of my Economics professors mentioned this video in class a couple of weeks ago, and it is pretty funny. The guy taking the order deserves a raise... and a bonus.

Take Two: Piano Obsession...

Thought I'd take another stab at posting the piano videos, since YouTube likes me again...




And...

Cool Video

Another one of my favorites, thought I'd share. Yes, I have waaaay too much spare time for my own good.




Dig the dismount at 3:30! Wish I could land like that! :)

Piano Obsession

All right, now I'm on an awful piano music kick. Instead of doing homework, I scour YouTube for piano covers of popular music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8XcMavRrHk&NR=1

It's amazing how a piano can make hard rock sound soothing...

And, in honor of the Halloween Season (yep, I'm stretching it out against Wal-Mart's Pre-Thanksgiving Christmas displays), a little Danny Elfman music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0QLHzHqsWI&feature=related

Enjoy!

P.S. Blogger and YouTube aren't getting along well today, sorry about the links (as opposed to a normal YouTube window).

Flipping the Switch

Wow. Two days ago it was Halloween, the thirty-first of October, and pretty nice temperature-wise. Upper forties, you could be comfy outside in a sweater. Yesterday, November the first, it never cracked forty, despite the forecast high of fifty. It's twenty-nine, now. I don't wanna dress up like a snowman to walk to class yet!! I suppose we've seen the last of summer for a while.

Halloween Treat...

... for all the Austrian Economists out there in Cyberspace!

http://mises.org/story/3834

Dressage

I love this website, and thought I'd share with any other riders out there.

http://www.artofriding.com/index.html

Living in the absoulte middle of nowhere has it's advantages, but an abundance of even poor dressage instructors is not one of them. So, I am endeavouring to become a better rider and help my pony become a more educated "lady's" mount by researching all I can on classical dressage.

No, that awesome zebra is not mine, I just found the shot, absolutely fantastic!

Yay For School Libraries!

I made yet another complete idiot move today and simply wrote down the title of a miltary history reference book before I went to find it. Figuring on my sad sad knowledge of the Library of Congress system to save me, I headed straight for the U's (Military books). It took me twenty minutes to even find the reference U's (six sorry looking books on military strategy... I needed one on history, specifically drafting and conscription for a term paper I'm working on), and there was no sign of my chosen book. I carried the rest of my prizes, neatly plucked from the easily found U section of the stacks, to the librarian, and asked her where I could find the once-thought simply found book. Three guesses. In the E's (history). Fun. Now I feel like a moron. Now I know. Always write down every number on the spine of the book. If you don't, prepare for a long walk through the library.

School Musical... AWESOME!!

Just got back from the GCC production of Godspell! Absolutely brilliant perfomances by everyone! Now I can't wait until the spring play!
Awesome job by all the actors, musicians, stage/production crew, and anyone else I forgot to mention! Absolutely fantastic job!

Hmmm... Yoga

My roommates are experimenting with "yoga lessons" off of YouTube (the source of perpetual amusement and "education" in a cable-free dorm room). We're all laughing, I think that could be interfering with their deep breathing. I personally prefer my "patent pending" meditation technique of sitting very quietly and listening to music (classical to rock, genre dependent on my degree of stressed out). We think we need a bigger room, they keep bumping into furniture. Maybe sometime I'll try it, I hear that yoga can be beneficial for equestrians. I also hear good things about Sally Swift's book Centered Riding. Something else for me to research this winter while my riding opportunities are limited.

Namaste.

The Downward Slide of Television

Is it just me, or has the quality of TV completely tanked (especially in the kids/teen programming department)?? The thought occurs to me once again as I scan YouTube, reliving my childhood in 10 minute bursts, and I find uploads of Disney's So Weird, a show superior in every possible aspect to the tripe that Disney Channel and Nickelodeon beam down these days. Even if the imagination to produce gems like So Weird has evaporated, I have little doubt that a "Wayback Wednesday" programming bloc would be successful. Oh, well. I suppose my nostalgia will have to be satisfied by YouTube yet again.

Great Clip!

I wish for the life of me that I could remember watching this full episode as a kid. Now, as an undergrad economics major, I still have a soft spot Ducktales, even softer with the discovery of this clip.

Enjoy!

Welcome to The Flare Zone, a vehicle for my generally random musings, thoughts, and rants.

I'm not sure what direction this blog will go, but we'll find out!